I have a two year old Chihuahua, we go out for regular walks however i have never let her off her lead. Im concerned that if i did let her off her lead she wouldn't come back. Am i being cruel? Its just i think i have left it too long now to now train her to come back and she is quite boisterous which makes me think she will think its a game and keep running. Im just concerned that im being cruel, she does get a lot of excercise though its not as if i keep her in all the time. Please advise!

hi
I just wanted to say that i dont think your cruel. :) If you dont have reliable recall with your dog then its obviously alot safer for her to keep her on a lead. I assume she gets to run free at home.
I have a mal (large breed) who doesnt get off the lead runs unless at home in a totally secure area (6ft high fencing) or harnessed to pull/run.this is due to high prey drive and selective hearing ( breed traits) . So if you think your cruel spare a thought for me and other mal owners with our in excess of 30kg dogs on leads for walkies. :D

No, I don't think you're being cruel either - far safer that you can control where she is and what's she's doing than for her to disappear!  If it makes you feel any better, I'm looking after a 1yr old chihuahua at the moment, and he never gets let off - the only exception to that is when my sister (his owner) walks him with me and my rott X bitch - he follows her around so we know he's okay.

I also don't think you're too late to teach him a good recall - both my dogs are past the 2yr old mark and I'm still working on their recall.  I'm currently using the technique laid out in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training by Pamela Dennison, and we're getting somewhere, it's well worth a read.  And of course the folks here on champdogs are worth their weight in gold for good advice too :D seriously, the sooner you start, the better the chances of teaching her - younger dogs learn faster and more readily than older ones, generally speaking.